Outside of the CNN Center this morning we have...

...this guy.



Here are my concerns:

1) He appears to be homeless...why is he out waving a flag when he could be earning some money somewhere working?

2) Speaking of earning money, someone is clearly paying him. I would venture to guess that homeless people don't usually spend the few dollars they can scrounge up throughout the day buying poster-making supplies. Or American flags.

3) According to the sign, the feeling is that CNN is unfair to Bush & McCain. You're definitely entitled to your opinion, but I'm even more confused because...

4) Supporters of Bush/McCain/etc... wouldn't be waving an upside-down flag, would they?

I'm analyzing this while trying to work, and it's giving me a slight head jumble.

Weighing in on Bill O'Reilly

Update 7:30pm - La Shawn Barber was on CNN this morning. This clip just says at all; I love her! I will comment more later. *Side note* Thanks for commenting, Tommy! I get excited to know my friends read this blog. :-)

CNN - Discussion about O'Reilly's comments

========================
I'm extremely limited on how much I feel comfortable saying about the current situation (due to my place of employment). O'Reilly got raked over the coals yesterday due to comments he made last week on the Radio Factor. I ask that you please listen to the entire audio clip for yourself. Please do not depend on some "Media Matters group" to give you the entire truth. Remember, whenever you're watching something where audio or video has been spliced and diced and presented to you, trust me, 98% of time there's a huge slant. Come on, now. Again, if you have an opinion at all on this matter, listen to the entire clip which I've linked below. Listen to it while you're working on cleaning or something.

The Radio Factor

Next few days

I'm not even sure what to do with myself...I'm off Thursday, Friday, and Monday of next week. And I have NOTHING at all planned. My only plans include hanging out at Borders all day to FINALLY read/complete "...Half-Blood Prince" and checking an early afternoon showing of "Order of the Phoenix". Oh yeah, and I may sleep a little too.

In other news, Michael Moore is still an annoying jerk. As if you need proof of this, here is a CNN news story on his complete waste of film entitled "Sicko". Dr. Sanjay Gupta rocks my world, by the way.

Super excited!

Today is already slated to be an extra awesome day. One of my good friends is coming up to CNN to have lunch with me! I haven't seen him in almost 2 years, and right now I feel like a kid on summer vacation! He and I have so much catching up to do, and we usually spend the whole time we're together laughing about everything going on around us. :-) I'm always in a much lighter mood after I've been around him.

My husband and I call 2007 the "Year of Reconnecting". There are a lot of people that we lost touch with after we got married, and ESPECIALLY after the kiddies came along. Our whole life went down a new path.

Well, now that so much time has gone by, I realize the emptiness of being apart from some of these people, and I have decided to make a huge effort to have them in my life and to be a part of theirs. I am excited about the present and future of renewed fun, bonding, and adventures!

Developing Story: Shooting at CNN Center

**Scroll down for updates**

Within the past hour, two gunshots were fired within 20 feet of my work area. The story is still developing but apparently the shooter was a 19-year old who fired two shots at his girlfriend's face. He was said to have been dragging her up the escalator (that I use daily to go to the restroom) when he was apprehended.

The most amazing thing to me is that my car is in the shop today, so I decided to work from home. Coincidence? I think not.

Story: CNN.com
==============

**Update 4:30pm**

Sadly, the female shooting victim has passed away. Even more tragic is that she is said to have been pregnant.

As I mentioned above, I worked from home today, so I wasn't right there in the middle of this event at work. I called my co-workers who sit within feet of my office to find out what the atmosphere was like at CNN today. Of course the response was completely varied.

I called one co-worker, and he stated that it didn't affect our group because it happened in the Omni Hotel.

Later I spoke with another co-worker, and he told me that they were all evacuated from our office and relocated into the CNN atrium temporarily! That doesn't sound good at all, considering our offices are supposed to be locked down and a safer location that the middle of the crowded atrium. This just shows you how close the office I work in is to the location of the shooting. Our group was safer out in the food court than we would have been inside of our own access entry only office.

Then I look up at the TV and see my boss being interviewed by one of our anchors! He was apparently able to see the entire thing since he was on his way back into our office from lunch at the time of the shooting. He stated that he heard a loud gunshot, and that EVERYONE in the newsroom began running!

You see, this is why you can never listen to only one person's version of things. Always ask around for a second and third opinion on things. :-)

==================


**Update 8:45pm**

More sad news. The victim was an employee of the Omni Hotel which means she was a fellow Turner Employee. I'm sure more will come out about this throughout the remainder of the week. My prayers go out to her family.

Read what a colleague of mine at CNN.com posted this on their blog earlier this afternoon:

CNN Center Shooting

Where to go from here

You know, sometimes you go on a vacation and come back feeling all relaxed and full of fresh energy. Then there are those vacations where you come back and realize that you need a break from your vacation! I think the latter describes where I am right now.

Chris and I have frequented Orlando theme parks since we got married, but this is the first time we've ever gone as a family of four. Neither of us anticipated this trip draining us of all energy, but that's essentially what happened. Spending 14-15 hours per day (for 6 straight days) picking up, chasing after, and soothing a tired 3-year old and 1-year old is not exactly sittin' on the dock of the bay watching the clouds roll away. It was taxing, and even though we enjoyed being with the kids and each other for an entire week, Chris and I are really beat.

Despite our minds and bodies being completely fried, life does go on. As I type this, Chris is putting the finishing touches on an 10-page appellate brief that needs to be turned in today. No, relief will not be in sight once he finishes this because within the next few weeks his oral argument project will be due. Also, things at my job are about to shift from neutral to high-gear. I am right in the middle of some pretty serious projects, and I have a mammoth one to get involved with sometime within the next few weeks. Something pretty huge is in the works with CNN.com, and I'm due to jump on board any day now.

Speaking of work, I feel that I'm at an impasse right now. You see, I decided last Fall that since Chris was going to be a full time law student, I would continue to work at CNN up until he finishes school. Once he graduates and gets a job, the plan is for me to discontinue working immediately and focus on the family entirely. With that being said, I forthwith stopped stressing about anything at my job. "I'm only here for another 3 years", I would say to myself constantly. No more concerns about being the "shining star" and hoping to be promoted as a reward. I decided to bide my time, and do my job as required with no extras.

Lately, I have realized that there are flaws in this thinking. First of all, what if Chris decides somewhere along the way that he hates law school and doesn't want to be an attorney? And secondly, people with my personality can't afford to take a mediocre, blasé attitude about ANYTHING. I am an "all-or-nothing" kind of woman. I'm either giving you my everything, or you're getting zilch. If you know me well, and think for a moment about different areas of my life, you will know that I speak the truth.

So...where do I go from here? Well, Chris is about 7 weeks away from being done with his first year of law school. If I spend the next 2 years at my job giving the most that my potential has to offer, that can only be good for myself, my family, and the company that pays this wonderful salary that allows us to live comfortably on one income. You know what? I think I'm ready for that. I said "I think". :-) We'll see.